Keeping a yacht in the Netherlands?

[neil1967]

I am moving to the Netherlands later this year for 2-3 years with work and would be grateful for suggestions on the best places to sail and keep our 40' yacht. We will be living in SE Netherlands near the Belgium/German border, so not exactly near the sea. The IJsselmeer looks good - any particularly good or bad marinas? Anything particularly to lookout for? YM appeared on my doormat today with an article on sailing in the Netherlands, which was encouraging, but any further info or pointers would be much appreciated.

Neil

 

[westhinder]

I am moving to the Netherlands later this year for 2-3 years with work and would be grateful for suggestions on the best places to sail and keep our 40' yacht. We will be living in SE Netherlands near the Belgium/German border, so not exactly near the sea. The IJsselmeer looks good - any particularly good or bad marinas? Anything particularly to lookout for? YM appeared on my doormat today with an article on sailing in the Netherlands, which was encouraging, but any further info or pointers would be much appreciated.

Neil

Have a look at the Oosterschelde: good sailing ground, plenty of nice and interesting harbours, weekend trips to the Grevelingen, Volkerak, Haringvliet, Veerse Meer, all of them closed off bits of sea between what used to be islands. Easy access to the North Sea, the Westerschelde and the Standing Mast Route.
As far as I'm concerned the Delta is more interesting than the Ijsselmeer.
If you prefer more open water, quaint towns and crowds, then the Ijsselmeer is for you. From the Ijsselmeer you have access to the Waddenzee and the islands, a very rewarding cruising ground, albeit very crowded in summer.
In fact, you're spoilt for choice, and as you will be staying for more than one year, why not alternate?

 

[ANDY_W]

If you go to www.marinafuehrer.adac.de ( german website ) it gives details of most marinas in northern Europe
including contact details, location maps, marina and local facilities and overnight mooring fees.

At the home page select " hafen " which gives a list of countries. Select one and, when the map comes up
zoom in to the area of interest. Clicking on the anchor symbol brings up the marinas there.

Also www.portmaps.com has similar information but additionally shows navigational charts. The chart info will
probably be outdated but gives a very good idea of the type of sailing area.

Hope this helps

Andy

 

[Fossil]

If you are in South Holland (even near the German border) forget the Ijsselmeer, you will spend all your life in traffic jams, the Oosterschelde and its surrounding waterways are the place to be. I agree with the poster above that the Delta is much more interesting than the Ijsselmeer. Visit the Ijssel when you go on holiday; up the canals via the Standemastroute and you will have an unforgettable experience.

We kept our Jaguar 27 in Wemeldinge for nine years and rate it very highly.

A very well-sheltered place with easy direct access to the Oosterschelde and many nice places within easy reach. All the facilities, including lift-outs, boatyard, chandlery and a very good restaurant. Easy access to supplies in the village and there is a big caravan site close by which has a shop.

Unfortunately, very popular so probably difficult to get into now. We got in just after it opened.

But don't let that put you off. I loved sailing in the Netherlands and there are many marinas around, so you should be able to get in somewhere. My friend keeps his boat in Kats, also on the Oosterschelde. While not very glamorous, with a shipyard right next door, this has a good marina, and is fine as a home port.

I would be a little bit cautious about the marinas inside locks (Versemeer, Grevelingensmeer, etc) as the locks get very busy on summer weekends and some of the channels to and from them are quite narrow, so you will do a lot of motoring before you can sail. However, there are good facilities everywhere.

Why not try river cruising, if spending your life on the road doesn't appeal? From the Maastricht area, which I suppose is what you are talking about, it will be a good couple of hours drive to the Delta (each way). That is the down-side.

 

[vyv_cox]

The traffic jams would also be my cautionary note. We lived in The Hague and kept the boat at Hellevoetsluis. On a good day and time we could drive there in well under an hour. On Friday night it often took two hours or more.

 

[neil1967]

Thanks for the advice - most useful - I will look into the various links. We currently live in North West London and have the boat in Portsmouth, so it is a 2 hour journey on a good day and sometimes over 3 (sunday afternoon/evening on the M3 and M25!), so I am used to a long 'commute' to the boat, but clearly a shorter journey would be most welcome.

Neil

 

[westhinder]

Wemeldinge may not be the nicest village on tje Oosterschelde, the harbour is indeed very good. They advertised the availability of berths last autumn, apparently some new pontoons had been installed. Worth checking whether any are available.
I understand that waiting lists in many harbours have shrunk drastically and even disappeared in some places.